Are you a fan of either The Munsters or The Addams Family TV shows? Possibly even both? (That’s me. Tough to pick between them.)
Recently Sally Writes submitted a guest contribution about three kid-friendly haunted destinations perfect for the Halloween season. One of them included the Munster Mansion. I didn’t know such a thing even existed, but it made me think of something else along the same lines: AddamsFest.
Did I know about AddamsFest last year, or did I find out about it this year? I’m not sure. I meant to write about it a month ago but hadn’t yet. Until now.
Sally’s post inspired my muse, and here I am. Well, we since you’re reading this. Let’s discover together more about where, when, how, etc. to hang with either The Munsters and The Addams Family –or both, if that’s your proclivity.
The Munster Mansion
In her post, Sally briefly covered the mansion’s origins. To recap: The mansion is located in Waxahachie, Texas. “Owners Sandra and Charles McKee painstakingly recreated the home with only the show’s episodes to guide them, making it a true work of art.”
Like the Myers Home in North Carolina is to its owner, Kenny Caperton, the Munster Mansion is to the McKees: it’s their residence. While they welcome visitors, they do so with booked reservations only. Either for a mansion tour or a murder mystery dinner.
Tours
Tours of the mansion start at $120, but that covers up to four people. If you have under four people in your party, it’s still $120. If you have over, the price is $120 up to four people, then $30 per person after that.
Murder Mystery Dinners
They also offer monthly murder mystery dinners. Thirteen participants are needed, and costumes are required. Dinner and drinks precede the murder mystery mayhem. The price is $125 per person, but it’s also another way to tour the mansion, because it’s included in the price.
For more info or to make reservations, visit their website: https://www.munstermansion.com/
AddamsFest
Charles Addams, the creator of The Addams Family comic strip that went on to become the iconic TV sitcom, was born in Westfield, New Jersey.
Westfield held the inaugural AddamsFest in 2018 to celebrate Addams and the hometown that inspired his mysterious and spooky and all together ooky characters. 2019 is its second year.
Events
The month-long event has a lot of events within the event, including:
- A Haunt Your House Decorating Contest – Residents of the town decorate their houses, then community members tour and vote for their favorite.
- Wicked Windows of Westfield – If you’re old enough (there I go again, letting my age show), you may remember when stores created Christmas window displays. This is like that, except with an Addams Family twist.
- Gomez’s Dynamite Model Railway – An exhibit of small scale trains representing major Westfield landmarks.
- Art Exhibit – A showcase of original Charles Addams masterpieces.
- Morticia & Gomez’s Masquerade Ball – Make a purple carpet entrance then dance the night away.
- Charlie’s Ale Garden – The Westfield Armory invokes the Octoberfest spirit as it transforms into an indoor/outdoor beer garden with live music, beer, wine and food.
- Lurch’s Lecture Series – Learn more about the man who created The Addams Family, who apparently was quite the character himself.
- Halloween Parade and Costume Contest – Held by the Westfield Optimist Club.
- Paranormal Investigation of the Reeve House – The historic 1870 house was in the Reeves family until they donated it to the Westfield Historical Society in 1985. Investigate with paranormal experts to see if there’s any activity in the old house.
- Pugsley’s Trunk or Treat – Some safe trick or treating fun for the little ones!
Since I’m late writing about AddamsFest, many of the events have already happened earlier in the month. However, the Halloween parade, costume party, paranormal investigation, and trunk or treat all take place during the last weekend of October.
Photos
Check-In
Did you have a favorite character from either The Munsters or The Addams Family? Or perhaps a favorite episode?
Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.
Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.
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